Time is Love
by SamMu219
Summary: Al'Kir is a young redguard separated from his friends and family and forced into slavery. But years later will when he escapes back to Skyrim how will his best friend Lydia react to his return?
1. Chapter 1

_A/N_

_This is my first time writing a fanfiction or anything larger than a paragraph for school. So please if you find anything wrong please leave me some constructive criticism...flames however are expected and will be welcomed. So without further ado, read on. Also I hate the beginning of this story and I'm afraid to rewrite it, but I promise the second chapter is better._

_**Time is Love**_

Two children ran through the streets of Morthal. The little girl had just broken her best friend's favorite toy, a wooden sword with a beautiful carving of a dragon that was given to him as a gift from the Jarl herself as a "Welcome to the town present".

"Allie come back here" the young Nord called after her male companion as she ducked under a large man carrying a sack of flour. The man stumbled, gave the two kids a glare but continued walking.

"Lydia I've told you thousands of times not to call me that!" The young redguard complained. "My name is Al'kir, its the name of a fierce warrior that lived hundreds of years ago in Hammerfell"

"Yeah you've told me this before" Lydia shot back "and honestly I think its a cute nickname for you." She said sheepishly. Al'kir turned around with a disgusted look on his face.

"Eww Lydia don't call me cute that's gross and beside I don't care about what you think about me, I hate you!" Al'kir looked at Lydia realizing what he just said.

"Lydia I'm so sor-" he was cut off by her pushing him to the ground and running away.

"Ly-" he was interrupted again by the sound of bells ringing, and town guards yelling at people to get in their homes. But Al'kir still frozen in place from the previous events, didn't hear a word from the town guards he still stood there staring at the ground like a statue. Al'kir didn't snap back into reality until he was shaken by someone.

"Kid get to safety now! Bandits are attacking, hurry up and-" the guard froze and looked down at his chest, an arrow was stuck halfway out of his chest he fell over almost crushing Al'kir with his weight. Al'kir started to run but didn't make it far before he was grabbed by large, strong hands. A battle worn dark elf stuck his face into Al'kir's

"Ooh a young Reguard. Maybe 9 or 10...You'll fetch us a nice price" Al'kir tried to struggle as he was thrown into a cage that the bandits brought along for the sole purpose of capturing townsfolk for illegal slavery. About 20 minuets later the bandits retreated, and as the cart sped away the only thing on Al'kir's mind wasn't his captivity or his future life as a slave but Lydia and wishing he could see her one more time.

_Fast forward 13 years. The story will also be told primarily in 1__st__ person from here on out._

"So to answer your questions yes I have many regrets and no I can fix them, not now or ever. I think its best for me to just forget about her and move on" I said, envying my friend's carefree attitude. That's one thing that will always baffle me about Do'Zhen, most Khajiit are rude and tend to keep to themselves. But to always be happy and on top of that be a slave! I have no idea how he does it.  
"You see friend" Do'Zhen started. " You have to live in the moment and not worry about your past _or _future. You have to have fun and enjoy yourself otherwise, whats the point? Anyway, I read a book awhile ago"

"You read?"

"Not often" Do'Zhen said blowing off the comment "But this quote really stuck with me "Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, then they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but unjust, then you should not want to worship them. If there are no gods, then you will be gone, but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones." You see Al'kir it doesn't matter what you said to her because as long as you know deep down in her heart that she loves you then the next time you see her you have nothing to worry about".

I looked at him amazed that he thought about this for so long and to have and answer like that amazed me.

"Thanks Do'Zhen that helps a lot" I went off to bed but could not sleep. Does she really love me? I asked myself. Or has she moved on and went to live a better life as warrior like she always talked about? And if I did find her what would she say, would she hug me and tell me she missed me or tell me to leave her alone? I pondered these question that I knew I couldn't answer 'till the overseers banged on the slave quarters doors to wake us for another grueling day of hard (illegal) labor. Throughout the day I continued to think about these questions and thought about escaping but quickly dismissed these thoughts remembering what happened the last time I was caught...

"Dammit Al'kir I thought you were better than this!*Crack* You were my best man!*Crack* A hard worker!*Crack* Strong! My "master" himself whipped me, normally an overseer would do the dirty work because my master saw all of us, even his payed workers, as beneath him. But I was his favorite and he would not tolerate thoughts of escape.

"Now what do you have to say for yourself?" He asked. I being the proud man I am, refused to say anything. But as I grew weaker his whip seemed to grow stronger. I was slipping into unconsciousness when he called his healer over to keep me awake. Finally after 2 of the most painful hours ever my master had me healed and tossed me in my quarters I finally let out the tear that he was longing to see.

My back may be healed but the scarring will never go away. Some of the overseers have taken to calling me Snake-Back, I pretend to not be bothered by it, but late at night when talking to Do'Zhen I tell him how much it hurts.

After the work day we go and eat our "meal" on a good day it consists of Skeever tail and water, filled in dirty broken cups and we are forced to eat like savages, quickly and messy because if we don't there is a large chance that a fellow slave will steal your food. Then after our meal only on Loredas we get our weekly bath which consists of jumping in a cold river and air drying yourself. Then after bathing we get 20 minuets of socializing before it is time sleep. I noticed that Do'Zhen was acting strange during social time so I confronted him.

"Hey Do'Zhen are you feeling okay because you've been fidgeting and mumbling for the past 15 minuets"

"N-n No I fe-f feel fine what are y-you talking about?" He said obviously feeling uncomfortable with the conversation.

"Never mind, go do what ever it is that you've been doing" I brushed passed him and into my room. I closed my eyes and pictured my old home in Morthal with people in the streets laughing and having a good time, but mostly I saw Lydia her ebony hair, her full lips, and beautiful Hazel eyes.

I awoke with a start looked over and saw someone standing over me I tried to scream but a furry hand quickly covered my mouth.

"Shhhhhhhh. Quiet friend... We are leaving"

_So what did you guys think?_

_-SamMu219_


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N I don't understand why we have to write disclaimers, we are on FANfiction if I owned it why would I be on here? _

_Also thanks to JarateBop for the review. I see where you are coming from and promise to add more of a relation between the two._

**Time is Love**

_Chapter 2: Escape_

"Shhhhhhhh. Quiet friend... We are leaving"

I looked at him and saw the determination in his eyes, surprised that he, the man who seemed to have no problem with anything, would want to leave. But considering that we were slaves I say that he was just.

"What are you talking about? You know there is no way that we could leave they have guards and hounds all throughout the property." I whispered to him.

"These guards are a lot easier to bribe than you think. All I promised was to send a few bottles of skooma in return for an easy escape"

"Didn't you say that stuff disgusted you?" I asked. Wondering why he would offer something like that.

"Yes I did, I don't even know how to brew the stuff... but he doesn't need to know that." He chuckled to himself for a moment before giving me a serious look. "Al'kir, I need you to follow my word, do everything I tell you to. Can you do that?" I shook my head and he motioned for me to follow him.

We tip-toed passed the sleeping slaves until we reached the door. Do'Zhen banged on it 4 times and we waited, a Wood Elf opened the door and I noticed that he had a cart with him.

"What are you waiting for? Get in" He said trying to make this exchange as quick as possible. We got under the assorted pieces of waste, and it started to move. All was going well until we heard a voice and felt the cart stop. Do'Zhen and I looked at each other and held our breath.

"Stop right there." The voice was deep and booming. I was afraid to see the man that it came from, I couldn't imagine how big he was. "Authorization pass"

"Ah yes, Give me a moment" The Bosmer set down the cart and I heard him pat his pockets to find the paper. "Ah here it is, I gotta remember to put it in the same place every time"

"Oh you're the new guy. No wonder you're stuck on waste duty... Very well, carry on."

Shortly after the exchange we felt ourselves stop again. Do'Zhen and I looked at each other and expected to worst.

"Hey you can get out now. But hurry, I don't know how much time we have before someone else comes" The elf whispered hoarsely obviously terrified of being discovered. "And Khajiit, don't forget my Skooma."

"Thank you so much for the help" I said. We turned and ran as fast as we could, I was always a little behind Do'Zhen I just couldn't catch up to him due to a Kajiit's natural speed. We ran for about 5 minutes before we stopped to take a breath. As we stood there hunched over and panting I surveyed our surroundings. As saw movement in the brush and a gleam of something shiny in the moonlight. 'Oh no' I thought 'They found us.'

"Do'Zhen look out!" I scream and tackled him to the ground. I heard an arrow fly right by my head and hit a tree behind us. We scrambled to our feet and prepared for a fight. A large Orc stepped out of the brush and pulled a large great sword from his back. I felt sick, I knew there was very little chance that we would make it out of this alive. I looked around looking for a potential weapon, but the only thing I saw was the arrow that was lodged in the tree and as soon as I saw it I bolted for it. I knew that the Orc couldn't run as fast as us. His armor restricted his movement and the great sword was to large, but that didn't stop him from charging at us. Do'Zhen dived to the left and just missed being cut in half. I pulled out the arrow and saw that the Orc that was attacking Do'Zhen didn't have the bow on him. 'If I can make it to bush I can grab the bow and end this' I thought to myself.

I ran faster than I thought I could and reached it in record time. I quickly grabbed the bow and saw that it was just an average long bow.

"Son of a bitch" I said to no one in particular. 'This won't penetrate his armor, I have to hit is head'

"Al'Kir!" I turned and saw Do'Zhen tossed to the side. The Brute of an Orc had hit him with the hilt of his sword rendering him unconscious. Then the Orc charged at me quickly gaining speed. So I pulled back the bow, aimed the best I could and let go of the string.

"AH Dammit!" He scream. The arrow had hit him in the elbow where the armor was thin to allow movement. He stumbled but that gave me enough time to run up to him pull the dagger out of his belt and lodge it in his throat.

I looked down and saw that his armor was still intact, I striped him of his boots, chest plate, and grieves. I pulled off my ragged clothes and put on the armor and took his dagger. I also found a beautiful garnet on him that looked like it had no imperfections.

I pulled my unconscious friend put him around my shoulders **(A/N a fireman's carry)**and ran as fast as I could away from my unwanted home for the past 13 years. Once I felt safe and put Do'Zhen down I immediately felt my adrenaline high leave me, I slumped to the ground exhausted and immediately fell asleep.

"Happy Birthday!" I looked around my house and say my Mother, Father, and a few other people in my house. People showered me with comments like "Oh your so big now" or "Almost a man I see". But even though it was my birthday I was disappointed that Lydia wasn't there. I knew that she wasn't going to be there but her parents did say that it was possible that they would be back from their vacation in time for my birthday, unlikely, but possible. I played with another boy my age he was about a year older than me.

"Balimund I bet you can't throw the ball farther than me!" I said finally forgetting about Lydia.

"I bet I can! 3 septums says I can!" He shot back. I may have lost 3 septums but I was happy to have a new friend. I played with Balimund for 3 days before I finally got the only present that I wanted, Lydia's return. I was talking to a town guard about a mud-crab that I saw earlier when I felt someone tap on my should.

I turned around wondering who interrupted my conversation.

"Hey Allie, did ya miss me?" Only one person calls me that and even though I hate it, I was glad to hear it.

"Lydia!" I exclaimed I turned around and gave her a bear hug. I may have hugged her a bit hard considering she let out a big breath.

"Wow I should leave more often if I get this kind of attention" She said sarcastically. I squeezed her tighter "Ow! I was only joking, I'm not going anywhere"

I let go of her "Good because I wasn't going to let you leave" So how was Solitude? Did you meet the son of the Jarl, Torygg? I heard he was around our age."

"I wouldn't say I met him. I saw him for like 2 seconds." She said "But anyway I got you something for your birthday"

"Wow thanks! But uh where is it?"I question.

"Not right now. Meet me at the big oak tree we go to, after dark" I obviously looked confused so she elaborated "Just trust me."

"o-okay see ya then" and I walked off. As I did my daily chores I thought about what she wanted and why I had to sneak out to the tree. Later that evening I snuck **(A/N I know "snuck" isn't grammatically correct but in my opinion it sounds a lot better than "sneaked")** out of my house and ran to the tree.

"Okay Lydia I'm here now what is it you wanted?" I called out looking for any sign of her. I finally saw her walking towards me.

"Well you see" She started " I. Well you see. I um"

"Lydia just spit it out" No sooner had I said that I felt her lips on mine. I was shocked at first but I slowly returned the kiss.

"I love you" she said after breaking away from the kiss.

And it was right then and there that I realized that I loved her too.

"I love you too" I spoke slowly still recovering from the kiss. "I never really thought about love before, what do you do?"

She thought for a moment and then spoke "Well what I think is you're supposed to always be nice to them and take care of them and to always do your best to make them happy and you have to promise to always do this"

"I promise with all my heart" I said and meaning every word of it.

"I promise too"

I awoke with a start thinking about the dream. I yelled at her and told her I hated her. I hurt her and never got the chance to apologize to her...

I broke my promise.


	3. Notice

Sorry for not updating in so long...if any of you actually care. I had three chapters written on my computer that I didn't save anywhere else, then I had to reset my computer to factory settings and it really discouraged me from writing again. But none the less, I am back, and the new chapter(s) will be up soon.

Hugs and Chocolate

-SamMu


	4. Chapter 3

_Hey...whats up. Its been a while, can't really say anything other than "Sorry". Soooo yeah, please enjoy the next chapter of Time is Love._

As Do'Zhen and I traveled we heard from a passing caravan that we were just outside of the city of Bruma in Cyrodiil, we were also told to head north east until we hit the fishing town of Riften. There we could stay for awhile and see if we could find anything about Lydia. After about a week of traveling we found a small village named Duikan.

"Hold there" a voice said from above the gate. "State your business here in the village" I mentally laugh at the young Wood Elf who was trying to scare us, but I played along.

"Please sir let us in" I mock pleaded "We are just two travelers making our way to Skyrim" Do'Zhen realized what I was doing and helped me.

"Please, we are so tired from traveling. We just want to rest for a few hours" Do'Zhen snickered behind my back after saying that. The young boy started to think.

"Well" he started "I guess I could let you in, but only if you pay the visitor's tax. Only then can I-" A man walked up to the gate obviously angry at the boy.

"Hishtur! Get down from there and stop bothering these two men"

"Yes Father." the boy said disappointed.

"Go finish your chores and then you can play" the man said with a softer voice. Hishtur walked away with his head down and mumbling something.

"Sorry about that" the man stuck out his and I shook it "I'm Rianis, I hope Hishtur didn't cause you too much trouble. That boy always seem to be doing something he shouldn't" Do'Zhen and I chuckled.

"No it was no problem. But you should teach your boy how to fight, he seems like a good candidate for a guard." Do'Zhen spoke with a smile.

" I can't get him to pay attention to anything for more than five minuets, I doubt he'd be able to sit all day watching for trouble. But anyway come in, and lets head for the tavern. Karolas makes this new drink that's fit for the gods. Also she seems to be the only person that knows how to keep a place clean too, I've been on the road before and there's some places that are dirtier than a skeever's ass"

The three of us drank and spoke for hours during that time we told Rianis about our past lives as slaves. He was amazed that we could get away without being discovered, but what really got him was when we told him about the Orc that attacked us.

"-the last thing I remember was the hilt of his great sword coming down on me"

"That's when I turned around and saw him getting thrown to the side, so I picked up the bow and shot as fast as I could. The arrow hit him in the crook of his arm and went out through his elbow, he stumbled and snapped the arrow but at that time I was already on him. I pulled his dagger out of it's sheath and stabbed him right here" I pointed to my Adam's apple and laugh when I saw that Rianis was wide eyed. " Then I checked on Do'Zhen to see if he was okay, one I saw he was just unconscious I went to the Orc and pulled off his armor tightened the straps so it would fit me. Then I grabbed his bag and found a garnet in there, then I picked up Do'Zhen over my shoulders and ran." Rianis was quiet for a while trying to process everything he heard.

"I just...wow. That's amazing. And now you're headed for Skyrim all to find the women you love. This sounds like a great story to write, once you find make sure you come back here and tell everything thing that happens."

"Will do, but the thing about this trip that really amazes me is that Do'Zhen has stuck with me this entire time" I wrapped an arm around his shoulders and smiled. "Thank you for doing this for me" I saw through the thinner parts of his fur on his face and saw his skin turn red.

"Its nothing, I'm just glad to be here" We laughed and I raised my cup.

"Here's to the good life!" I said. There was a loud mixture of whistles and things like "Here here!" and "Hell Yeah" from the drunken crowd at the tavern. The rest of the night consisted of drinks, stories and songs. I even saw Do'Zhen talking to some beautiful Bosmer girl for a good portion of the night.

The next morning I woke up with a massive headache. Thoughts of last night came rushing back and I smiled. That was the first time I've had real fun in close to 13 years. I looked around the room that I don't remember renting and saw that bed on the other side was used but no one was in it. I got out of my bed, picked up my things, got dressed, and was about to head out when I saw the note.

_Took the garnet, selling it, and getting some supplies. I'll either be across the street at the market or down in the tavern eating._

_ -Do'Zhen_

_P.S_

_You snore like a fricken sailor_

I put the note in my pocket when the door was thrown open.

"AL'KIR! We need your help! Three men are looking for you I think they're from your former owner. They have my son with a knife at his throat!" Rianis screamed.

"Al'Kir!" Do'Zhen ran up the stairs and into the room "Here take this dagger. I traded the elven one for two steel ones" He handed me the knife, and I thought for a second.

"Ok I have an idea. Rianis hand me your sword and belt. Grab the bow that I saw was downstairs and run around the buildings till your behind them. The shoot the one who has your son when I say 'Freeze'. Got it?" Rianis nodded " Do'Zhen put your knife in the back of your pants where they can't see it and I'll do the same. When Rianis shoots, charge at the one that's on the right." Got it? Do'Zhen nodded. "Okay then lets go!"

Do'Zhen and I walked out of the tavern, with our hands up. I looked around and saw the towns people gathered around to see what will happen. My eyes locked and I instantly recognized the man holding Hishtur. It was the man who tied me up when I was whipped and he taunted me the entire time. "Ah Al'Kir and Do'Zhen how _nice _it is to see you again" The Nord grinned " Now drop your sword and walk forward until I tell you to stop" The sword dropped with a quiet clink as the metal hit a rock. I walked forward and I hear Do'Zhen start behind me. My heart was pounding in my ear I thought of all the possible outcomes to this and I knew that only one would work. What felt like an eternity but in reality was only a few steps I finally heard the Nord speak.

"Now-"

I interrupted him.

"Yeah, I know, I know... Freeze" Time slowed down when I heard the bow go off. The arrow flew through the air and hit the man's neck. His hold on Hishtur relaxed and he dropped and scrambled away. Do'Zhen, Rianis and I screamed and rushed forward. I took the high elf on the left and Rianis and Do'Zhen fought the Red Guard on the right. I quickly ducked under the ice spike that came soaring at me. I pulled the knife out from behind my back and while I was close to the ground I stabbed his foot. He yelled and kicked me in the chest before switching to a healing spell.

I got to my feet and punched his exposed head. The elf quickly got mad and punched me back, clearly forgetting about his magic. He quickly disarmed me with a quick punch to my wrist, the dagger was kicked away and we began our brutal exchange of punches and kicks. However with my minimal fighting experience the High elf quickly gained the upper hand. I was about to land a solid upper cut to his head I felt a searing pain in my leg. I looked down and saw my clothes burned away and my skin was bright red. The elf knocked me down and pointed a hand at me head, it instantly got cold and I knew I was about to have an icicle in me. I closed my eyes and turned away and waited for it to come. That's when I heard a strange gargling noise and I looked up. There was Do'Zhen's knife in his neck, Do'Zhen had thrown his knife about 30 feet and hit the Elf perfectly.

"Al'kir, are you okay?" Do'Zhen asked

"Leg. Burned. Help" was all I was able to get out before I passed out from the pain.

When I woke up the next day I couldn't feel any pain from my leg. Which at first worried me, because I was afraid I had completely destroyed my nerve endings. But at further inspection it was fine, I looked at the table and saw an empty potion bottle. I got up and slowly put weight on my leg, once I was convinced it was okay I walked downstairs into the tavern.

"Hey! Welcome back to the land of the living! Pull up a seat!" Do'Zhen exclaimed.

"How long was I out?"

"About a day, you gave us quite a scare. Luckily there's an alchemist's shop here and they had a burn remedy"

"Yeah, you cant even tell there was anything wrong with my leg in the first place." Do'Zhen smiled and waved down the bartender. " We gotta head out soon, whats our tab?"

The bartender smiled "For what you two did yesterday, nothing" Do'Zhen looked surprised and so did I.

"Are you sure? Its no problem" I said trying to convince her otherwise.

"After saving that little boy you're a hero here. I couldn't make you pay."

"Well okay then. Goodbye" Do'Zhen said. We got up and walked out the door. When we walked out, Rianis was walking towards the tavern with a pack in hand.

"Al'Kir!" he said with a smile "I'm glad you're feeling better. I wanted to thank you two for saving my son yesterday. There is nothing that I could ever do to repay either of you but I hope that this is a start" He handed the pack to me. "Also if you ever need help my doors are always open"

"Thank You, that's very kind of you"

"Rianis, thank you for being so kind to us these past few days and I hope to see you again soon" Do'Zhen said.

"Now" I started " We take our leave"

"Head north east to Riften, That's the closest town from here"

Do'Zhen and I walked out of the village and set off on our week long trip to the fishing town of Riften.


End file.
